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Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Daniel Bailey faces ethics charges after allegedly losing his temper with two defense attorneys in a felony criminal trial in April and inappropriately having one of them physically removed before the jury.

John W. Hallett, an attorney on LeRay Town Court for more than a decade, allegedly told Terrence Brennan, a senior assistant county attorney in Jefferson County, that he should commit a sex act on "Lord of the Rings" actor Viggo Mortensen.

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Stephen Thomas Millan stepped down from the bench in August, after using racial slurs to describe black defendants in the courtroom.

Police discovered that former Broward Judge Jay Spechler‘s IP address was the source of a menacing post directed at Broward Circuit Judge Michael Lynch, which said, “Your intimidation and scare tactics will come to a screeching halt, just like your pathetic, miserable lives. Waiting is the hardest part.”

In September, Broward Circuit Judge John Contini agreed to disbarrment over claims he told his his judicial assistant to create fake cases and hearings on particular days so that he could avoid work.

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Contra Costa Superior Court Judge John Laettner allegedly called female DUI defendants pretty, and told them they'll get scars if they continue to drink and drive.

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf in Nebraska caused an internet storm in July, using Twitter to compare a group of all-female law clerks seeking sexual harassment policy reform to the Spanish Inquisition. Some Twitter users called for his resignation, while others rallied behind the judge.

Joan Kline, a town judge in Chenango County, Upstate New York, stepped down in June after defendants in one of her cases claimed she was rude to them and improperly chatted with the claimant, according to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

When a town court justice in Jefferson County, New York, resigned after making lewd remarks to a county attorney, he became the latest judicial figure to commit a verbal faux pas in 2018.

John W. Hallett, an attorney on LeRay Town Court for more than a decade, allegedly told Terrence Brennan, a senior assistant county attorney in Jefferson County, that he should commit a sex act on ”Lord of the Rings” actor Viggo Mortensen.

According to a complaint filed by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, Hallett said, “You and Viggo Mortensen should get a hotel room and suck each other’s [expletive].”

The complaint also accused Hallett of telling the same lawyer that a local festival featuring Mortensen was “about the gayest thing I have ever heard.”

Removed from Courtroom

Meanwhile, in Florida another jurist found himself in the spotlight when the state Judicial Qualifications Commission charged Broward Circuit Judge Dennis Daniel Bailey with ethics violations.

The JQC, which investigate alleged misconduct by state court judges, Dec. 13 alleged Bailey violated five rules of judicial conduct by losing his temper with attorneys in a felony criminal trial in April. It claimed Bailey should face a public reprimand for being condescending, sarcastic and intemperate with defense attorneys.

According to the JQC’s complaint, Bailey became frustrated with two defense attorneys while presiding over State v. Genesis Espejo and inappropriately had one of them physically removed before the jury.

Millan admitted making the comments during in-chambers discussion with a bailiff, but denied he meant any offense.

In October 2016, an attorney was scheduling a hearing for a black defendant, when the judge “expressed indifference about scheduling, and in doing so, referred to the defendant as a ‘moolie,’” according to the JQC’s notice of formal charges.

“Moolie” is a Sicilian racial slur derived from the Italian word for eggplant. It is a derogatory term for people with dark skin.

“I cannot honestly say that I did not utter the terribly offensive word,” the JQC’s findings and recommendations of discipline quotes Millan as saying. “I am embarrassed and genuinely sorry.”

Anonymous Angst

Also in August, a Broward Sheriff’s Office investigation revealed former Broward Judge Jay Spechler‘s IP address was the source of a menacing post directed at Broward Circuit Judge Michael Lynch.

The message, posted on a courthouse blog, accused Lynch and affiliates of violating elections laws and said, “Your intimidation and scare tactics will come to a screeching halt, just like your pathetic, miserable lives. Waiting is the hardest part.”

Sentence Deals

In September, California’s Commission on Judicial Performance accused Contra Costa Superior Court Judge John Laettner of nine disciplinary counts, including conduct that it said “could be perceived as sexual harassment or sexual discrimination.”

According to the commission’s report, the judge called female DUI defendants pretty and told them they’ll get scars if they continue to drink and drive. Laettnner is also accused of asking intrusive questions to a Japanese-American public defender about her racial ancestry, background and upbringing.”

Other charges alleged Laettner improperly decided not to recuse himself from cases involving his son, a deputy district attorney, and that he tried to clear a docket backlog by incentivizing defendants to plead guilty in exchange for a 25 percent reduction in sentences and fines.

According to the JQC, Contini wrote ”Do not set hearings” in various spots on his calendar and sent texts instructing his JA to tell people he was busy.

Procedural Errors

Joan Kline, town judge in Chenango County, Upstate New York, stepped down in June after defendants in one of her cases claimed Kline was rude to them and improperly chatted with the claimant, according to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

“A judge is obliged to be patient, dignified and courteous to all with whom she deals in her official capacity,” CJC administrator Robert Tembeckjian said in a statement at the time.

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